The Grey Tower

Liaran wasn't sure she quite understood Gareth Asha'man's suggestion. "But Healing isn't easy, is it?" she objected, looking up with a frown. As far as the Accepted knew, Healing was not an easy thing to learn, and she did know that any sort of channeling for a prolonged time could be exhausting. She remembered that when the attack on the novice and soldier quarters happened years ago, many of the Yellows had been tired for days from their efforts, which suggested to her that Healing that many people so quickly was hardly as simple a task as the Yellow made it sound."You could certainly try to persuade them that it is a small thing, but I can't promise that the crew will see it as such. Healing isn't something a Windfinder would know," she explained. "It's possible that someone on the crew may have seen it done before, but if none of them have, they're likely to see it as such a great gift that nothing in their hold could ever be its equal in trade."

The Sea Folk woman fell silent, knowing she sounded discouraging, but she was nowhere near foolish enough to try lying to an Asha'man about the possibilities they might face. Liaran struggled to try to think of another idea, going over the details she could remember of what trading she'd seen done. There weren't very many of them. She had had one task as Windfinder, and that had been to use her inborn gift to maintain the winds. She had had little reason to pay much attention to any of the aspects of ship life that other crew managed. Perhaps the Windfinders aren't so very different from the Yellows, she thought to herself. Certainly, any Yellow had a better knowledge of channeling in general than many of the Windfinders had, but they did have a focus on Healing that was similar to the Windfinder's single minded focus on the weather. Looking up, she said as much to Gareth Asha'man who continued to walk beside her. "It might help if we were to present the Yellow Ajah as being a kind of equal to the Windfinders. A Windfinder has only one purpose; you would know it as Cloud Dancing. She studies those weaves exclusively." A scowl briefly crossed the Accepted's face as she recalled her own struggles with that focus. "It may work to explain that Healing is your main task for the Tower, just as the Windfinder works only at controlling the winds."

Liaran nodded, thinking she understood a little better why the Yellow might call Healing easy. "I think that just might work," she said. "It might be best to make that argument to the Windfinder, if we are able to speak with her." She planned on asking for the Sailmistress, as her mother had instructed in her letter, but Liaran didn't doubt that the Windfinder would accompany her if she wasn't too sick to do so. Having nothing else to add, the Accepted was quiet as they continued on their way out of the Tower. The hallways they were in weren't any she knew well, and she found herself wondering just where they were going. Were they going to the stables, the traveling yards, or did the two Yellows plan on walking to Whitebridge? The last seemed a poor choice to her, when it would take them most of the day if not longer, but it certainly wouldn't be impossible.

They approached a door that the Accepted thought would let them out of the Tower, and Liaran tried not to think about the possibility that it might be the way to the stables. Unlike some of her people, the Accepted wasn't afraid of horses, but she didn't much care for riding them. It was just so painful! She hadn't ridden one since that horrible trip to Vaidulo, and Liaran very much hoped she wouldn't be expected to ride today.

Liaran stepped outside and wrinkled her nose. She could smell the stables already, which suggested that whether she liked it or not, they were probably going to be traveling by horseback. It did not take them long before they stopped, and the Asha'man said something quickly to one of the stable hands before disappearing entirely. The Accepted glanced at Thea Sedai, and when the Yellow did not follow him into the stables, Liaran did not either.They waited there silently until the worker that Gareth Asha'man had spoken to came out of the stable leading a horse in each hand. He stopped first in front of the Aes Sedai, handing her the reins to a large black horse. Liaran was relieved to see that the other horse he led, a light grey, was a good deal smaller.

When he'd finished with Thea Sedai, man and horse headed towards Liaran. "This here is Thunder," the man told her, eyeing Liaran as if he somehow know what an incompetent rider she was. "Do you be needing any help mounting?" Liaran shook her head. She was perfectly capable of getting herself into the saddle; staying in the saddle was another matter. "I can manage," the Accepted said, more politely than she actually felt. She pulled her skirts to her knees, then took hold of the saddle and swung one leg over the horse's back with none of her usual grace. Once in the saddle, Liaran moved around a bit to try to get comfortable and replaced her skirts as far down her legs as they would go to comply with the strange ideas about modesty that most shorebound people seemed to share. The horse made a noise of protest and the Accepted sighed. "I'm sorry, Thunder," she said, and she really did pity the poor animal having to carry her."Please be a good horse?" Liaran tried to remain still after that, afraid to upset the horse, and hoped that Gareth Asha'man would return soon so that they could carry on with their journey.

Liaran flinched and looked down, embarrassed to have been caught talking to the horse. She certainly hadn't meant for the Asha'man to hear that comment. She wrapped her hands around the reins, then nudged the horse into following the two Yellows. Thunder proved to be as obedient as the Asha'man had claimed he was, but that did not make the Accepted any better at riding. She bounced and swayed painfully in her saddle, no matter how hard she tried to keep herself still. The slow pace helped her somewhat, but it was still difficult for Liaran just to stay in the saddle. The Accepted sighed and resigned herself to a long and uncomfortable ride.

She had thought they would ride directly to Whitebridge, but instead Gareth Asha'man led them to the Traveling Yards and requested a gateway. The Sea Folk woman smiled, realizing that even she should be able to tolerate riding through the city to the dock. It wouldn't be pleasant, but she had hope now that she might make it to the ship without falling out of the saddle. Gareth Asha'man disappeared through first, with Thea Sedai close behind him, leaving Liaran to ride through last. The gateway had deposited them in an area far enough outside of the city to be safe, but Liaran could see the gates from where she sat. The group wasted no time riding down through the city and winding through its streets to reach the dock.

As they drew closer, Liaran could smell the salt in the air that she always associated with home. The docks here were small, hardly comparable to many that were located on her people's home islands, or even those closer to the ocean, yet there were still quite a few ships in port here. Most of them appeared to be trading ships belonging to shorebound people, which the Sea Folk woman ignored. There were two darters, and it was immediately clear to Liaran which of them was the one their group sought. One of the ships was dark, with no crew out working on the deck, something nearly unheard of during the day with the ship in port. The Accepted barely had to glance at the name of the Deep Ocean engraved on his side to confirm what she already knew. "This is the ship," she told the two Yellows, and directed them towards its space near the end of the dock.

Once all three of the group had reached the gangway, Liaran led the way up. She turned to issue a warning to the pair behind her."You'll want to be careful stepping onto the deck," she told them. "You'll likely notice that the ship rocks slightly, and it can be hard to walk on at first if you're not used to it." The Accepted herself did not have that difficulty. It seemed to her that her very body remembered how to move on a swaying ship. The deck they stood on was every bit as deserted as she'd feared when she'd first identified the ship. Ropes were thrown into piles instead of neat coils and torn sail edges flapped in the wind. More disturbingly, Liaran noticed that there were two long, awkward looking bundles of sails laid out along one of the ship's sides, waiting to be given back to the sea. Are we too late? She glanced at the Yellows, wondering if either of them had noticed the pair of bodies.

The Accepted searched the deck, wondering if she would need to go to the lower decks in order to find the Sailmistress or anyone else she might speak to. After waiting for a while, having seen no crew at all, Liaran reluctantly began to walk towards the hatch that would take her to the lower decks. She did not really want to go down there, as it was mainly used for personal living quarters, but she knew from having seen the bodies that she did not have any more time to wait. As the Accepted approached, the hatch popped open and a woman stuck her head out and emerged slowly onto the deck, moving with obvious effort. She shook her head at Liaran without even looking up. "If it pleases the Light, we are not able to offer the gift of passage at this time," she said.

"I do not seek the gift of passage," Liaran answered. "My companions and I wish to make a bargain with your Sailmistress, Shannah din Aban Soaring Gull, if it pleases the Light." As Liaran had hoped, requesting the Sailmistress by name got the woman's attention. She started at Liaran as if she couldn't quite figure out what to think of her. "I fear that will not be possible," the woman told her. "Our Sailmistress has left us, to be woven once more into the Pattern," she explained, gesturing at the bundles Liaran had noticed earlier. It was terrible news, and Liaran wasn't quite sure what to do next until the woman continued talking. "If you wish it, I will speak to you. I am Nalani din Sima Three Winds, Windfinder of Deep Ocean. I see that you are also a Windfinder; tell me, which vessel do you serve on?"

Liaran took a deep breath, all too aware that anything she said now would have an effect on whether or not the Yellows would be allowed to offer Healing to the crew. "I am Liaran din Chelai Morning Star," she replied. "In the past, I served on many darters, but I am no longer a Windfinder." She pulled a curl out of one of her earrings with shaking fingers. "I am now what is called an Accepted within the Grey Tower. It is a place where we study channeling, and one of the weaves some of us learn is used for healing. I understand that many of your crew are currently ill." The Windfinder nodded, and Liaran went on. "If we may, we would like to offer Healing to you and to your crew. I would like to allow Gareth Asha'man and Thea Sedai to explain further. They are both very experienced Healers, far more so than I." She stepped aside, allowing Nalani to see the two where they stood some paces behind her. The Windfinder spoke. "I do not think we have anything in our hold that can match such a great gift as that," she said, just as Liaran had feared she would. "I would very much like to know what you might expect from us in return," she continued, focused now entirely on the pair of Yellows.